See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/285280707

Growth of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector in India: Needed Policy Directions

for Future

Article  in  World Aquaculture · January 2010

CITATION READS

1 2,254

1 author:

Ganesh Kumar Balasubramanian

National Academy of Agricultural Research Management
67 PUBLICATIONS   196 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators in India View project

Socio-economic Analysis of Finger Millet in India View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ganesh Kumar Balasubramanian on 01 December 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Growth of fisheries and aquaculture
sector in India: Needed policy directions
for future
B. Ganesh Kumar1, K.K. Datta and P.K. Joshi

The fisheries sector, a sunrise sector in India, has record-

ed faster growth than those of the crop and livestock sectors
(Kumar et al 2006). The sector contributes to the livelihood
of a large section of the economically underprivileged popu-
lation of the country. Recognized as a powerful income and
employment generator, it stimulates growth of a number of
subsidiary industries and is a source of cheap and nutritious
food, besides being a foreign exchange earner (Ayyappan
and Krishnan 2004).
With the changing composition patterns, emerging mar-
ket forces and technological developments, the fisheries sec-
tor has assumed added importance in India. It is undergo-
ing rapid transformation and the policy support, production Fig. 1. India’s share in world fish production.
strategies, public investment in infrastructure, and research
and extension for fisheries have contributed greatly
Table 1. Fish production in World and India, 1950-51 to
to the increased fish production. Particularly, after
2003-04 (million t).
the mid-1980s, the development of carp polyculture
technology has completely transformed the tradi- Year World % change India % change India’s
tional backyard activity into a booming commercial share
enterprise.
1950-51 23.50 - 0.75 - 3.19
Fish Production in World and India 1960-61 43.60 85.53 1.16 54.67 2.66

Approximately 50 million people worldwide de- 1970-71 66.20 51.83 1.76 51.72 2.66
pend on fishing for all or most of their family earn- 1980-81 72.30 9.21 2.44 38.64 3.37
ings, while another 150 million depend on fish pro- 1990-91 98.26 35.91 3.84 57.38 3.91
cessing and the fleet servicing industry. More than 2000-01 129.00 32.35 5.66 47.40 4.39
10 million work on 2.5 million small-scale fishing ve- 2003-04 140.48 8.90 6.40 13.07 4.56
hicles and account for 50 percent of the world catch
(FAO 2001). Source: GoI (2007)
Fish production in the world rose from 23.50 mil-
lion t in 1950-51 to 140.48 million t in 2003-04. Cor-
respondingly, the fish production in India has touched 6.40 4.56 in the post-WTO period of 2003-04. Overall, the share
million t in 2003-04 from a mere 0.75 million t in 1950-1951 of the developing world in total world fish production in-
(Table 1). The total fish production of our country stood at creased from 43 percent in 1973 to about 73 percent in 1997
6.57 million t in 2005-06. The share of India in global fish (Figure 2,b), which has been mainly from the increased con-
production has grown gradually from about 2.66 percent tribution from countries such as China and India (Delgado
during the 1960s and 1970s to 4.56 percent in 2003-04. et al. 2003).
It shows that growth in fish production in India has been
at a faster rate than in the world in general; mainly as a re- Contribution to Indian Economy and Prospects for
sult of the increasing contribution from inland fisheries. It Fisheries Growth
can also be seen in Figure 1 that in the pre-WTO period of With the fisheries sector comprising marine fisheries,
1990-91, the share of India’s fisheries was 3.90, which rose to freshwater and brackish water aquaculture and inland fish-

Reprinted from WORLD AQUACULTURE 41:3 September 2010. © 2010 World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, LA USA
Fig. 2a. Changing share of developing countries in the produc-
tion of fish for food, 1973 and 1997.
Table 2. Comparison and growth of fisheries Sec-
tor.
Period Percent contribution of: prise that functions under an integrated network of natu-
Agriculture to Fish to Fish to Ag
Total GDP Total GDP GDP
1980-81 34.69 0.75 2.17
1990-91 28.42 0.96 3.37
2000-01 22.26 1.18 5.32
2004-05 17.62 1.04 5.93
Source: GoI (2007)
Table 3. Fish production by source in India.
Year Fish production (t)
Marine Inland Total
1950-51 0.534 0.218 0.752
1960-61 0.880 0.280 1.160
1970-71 1.086 0.670 1.756
1980-81 1.555 0.887 2.442
1990-91 2.300 1.536 3.836
2000-01 2.811 2.845 5.656
2003-04 2.810 3.760 6.570
46 September 2010
Fig. 2b. Changing share of developing countries in the produc-
tion of fish for food, 1973 and 1997.
eries using ponds and reservoirs, the potential of this sector
is yet to be fully realized and it remains a sector with much
promise.
The fisheries sector, in particular, is a complex enter-
ral resources, with other enterprises that have forward and
backward linkages with fisheries and other socio-political
variables. The major functions of the fisheries enterprises,
including production, transportation, storage and process-
ing involve value additions from labor, capital and manage-
ment which greatly influence the rapid economic develop-
ment of the country (Ayyappan and Krishnan 2004).
In the last 25 years, unlike agriculture, the contribution
of the fisheries sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
continued to grow at a rapid rate because of the expansion
of the culture fisheries enterprise. The share of agriculture
and allied activities in the total GDP is constantly declining.
It was 34.69 percent in 1980-81 and declined gradually to
become 17.62 percent in 2004-05. In contrast, the contribu-
tion of the fisheries sector to the total GDP has gone up
from 0.75 percent in 1980-81 to 1.04 in 2004-05 (at current
prices). Similarly, the share of fisheries in agriculture GDP
(AgGDP) has increased robustly from 2.17 percent in 1980-
81 to 5.93 percent in 2004-05. This sector is, in fact, pushing
the agricultural growth upward for the past 55 years.
Fish Production: Structure and trend
Fish production in India has shown spectacular growth
since 1947. It rose from a mere 0.75 million t in 1950-51 to
over 6.57 million t in 2005-06 (Table 3). In the initial years,
the marine sector contributed more to total fish production
than the inland sector. In the 1950-51, marine production
contributed about 71 percent, but fell gradually to 43 per-
cent in 2005-06, while the inland sector contributed 29 per-
cent in 1950-51 and rose to about 57 percent in 2005-06. In
fact, by the year 2000, its share reached 50 percent and the
(Continued on page 48)

Fig. 3. Fish production by source in India.
Fig. 4. Annual growth rate (%) in fish production, 1980-81 to
2005-06 (5 yearly merging averages).
Table 4. Compound growth rate in fish production,
1980-81 to 2005-06.
Year Marine Inland Total
1980-81 to 1989-90 3.80 5.28 4.39
1990-91 to 1999-00 2.33 6.55 4.13
2000-01 to 2005-06 -0.21 5.37 2.75
1980-81 to 2005-06 3.24 6.20 4.60
1980-81 to 1980-91
(Pre-WTO) 4.35 5.43 4.78
1991-92 to 2005-06
(Post-WTO) 0.84 5.71 3.18
(Continued from page 46)
sector continued to increase its share further in the coming
years (Figure 3).
Expansion of fleet capacity, technological innovation
and increases in investment led to explosive growth in the
exploitation of marine fisheries through the 1960s, 1970s
and 1980s. But from the late 1990s on, marine fisheries
production has reached a plateau and it seems that it can
show only a marginal increase in the near future. With
most wild fisheries near maximum sustainable exploita-
tion levels, capture fisheries will most likely grow slowly.
On the other hand, inland fish production was rising
constantly. The inland fisheries include both capture and
culture fisheries. The capture fisheries were the major
48 September 2010
sources of inland fish production until the mid-1980s. But
fish production from rivers and lakes followed a declin-
ing trend, primarily because of the proliferation of water
control habitat degradation (Katiha and Bhatta 2002).
The depleting resources, energy crisis and resultant high
cost of fishing have led to an increased realization of the
potential and versatility of aquaculture as a sustainable
and cost-effective alternative to capture fisheries.
In the last 25 years, total fish production has been
growing at an annual growth rate of about 4.6 percent,
in which marine sector was growing at a rate of 3.24 and
the inland sector was growing at a rate of 6.2 percent. In
all, the inland sector fared better in all the periods, from
1980-1981 to 1989-1990, 1990-1991 to 1999-2000 and
2000-2001 to 2005-2006. There has been slower growth of
this sector in recent times. In contrast, the marine sector
had negative growth in the period 2000-2001 and 2005-
2006, which indicates the exhaustion of marine resources
especially in inshore and near shore waters, where maxi-
mum harvest has occurred. About 90 percent of the pres-
ent production from the marine sector is within a depth
range of up to 50-70 m and the remaining 10 percent from
depths extending up to 200 m.
While artisanal and motorized sectors have contrib-
uted 93 percent of the production, the remaining seven
percent comes from deep sea fishing fleets, confining their
operation mainly to the shrimp grounds on the upper east
coast. Hence, to enhance and sustain the contribution
from this sector, we must target the untapped potential
of the deep sea, supported by enhanced investment in
mechanized vessels, capacity strengthening of artisanal
sector and, probably, a proper institutional structure to
share the benefits.
The growth rates in pre- and post-WTO periods were
also estimated. We saw that the pre-WTO period wit-
nessed an impressive growth rate of about 4.78 as com-
pared to the post WTO period (3.18). The marine sector
was responsible for this trend, which is understandable in
the fact that the country’s fish export basket was domi-
nated by marine species and buoyancy of marine export
might have propelled the growth of marine catch, and
vice versa. The post-WTO period imposed many quality
regulations in terms of sanitary and phytosanitary mea-
sures (SPS) measures on developing countries like India,
which couldn’t create huge investment in the infrastruc-
tures required to produce export-quality marine fisheries
products that are acceptable to our trading partners, es-
pecially EU, USA and Japan.
In contrast to the marine sector, the inland sector
continued to grow better in the post-WTO period also,
which is possibly because of enhanced public and private
investment for the inland fisheries sector, through differ-
ent development programs and research by the Govern-
ment of India (GoI 2007) since the IV Five year plan on-
wards that started delivering results continuously. Figure
4 clearly depicts the dominance of inland fisheries sector
in the contribution to total fish of the country, particu-
larly from 1990s.
 To assess the trends of fish production in the country,
data from the last 25 years, 1980-1981 to 2005-2006, were
used. Linear and non-linear trend analyses were used and
the best equation fitted. The total fish production in India
has been following a linear trend (Figure 5) and it is likely
to proceed further in that direction. The trend pattern of
marine and inland fish production revealed that while the
marine sector’s production was increasing at a decreas-
ing rate, inland sector production was increasing at an
increasing rate. The possible reason for this is that inland
aquaculture activities are gaining in importance in some
of the states such as Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and
Punjab in recent years.
The trend equations for both marine and inland fish
production, as well as total fish production are given be- Fig. 5. Trend in fish production, 1980-81 to 2005-06.
low:
Marine: Y = -2.7588X2 + 143.4X + 1061.3
Inland: Y = 2.9078X2 + 38.083X +824.85
Table 5. Fish production to 2020.
Total: Y = 185.5X +1867.4
Based on the trend observed in the last 25 years, assuming Year Production (million t)
that the same scenario would prevail on public and private Marine Inland Total
investment patterns in the sector, the fish production of the
country would reach 7.46, 8.42 and 9.38 million t in 2010, 2010 2.88 (38.61)1 4.58 (61.37) 7.46
2015 and 2020, respectively. 2015 2.70 (32.07) 5.72 (67.33) 8.42
In the coming decades, aquaculture will likely be the 2020 2.38 (25.37) 7.00 (74.63) 9.38
greatest source of increased fish production, as fish farmers 1
Parentheses indicates percentage of total.
expand the water surface area under cultivation and increase
yields per unit of area cultivated. But the sector must over-
come several major challenges if it has to sustain the rapid
growth of the past 25 years. Table 6. Growth rate of fish production by states,
• Aquaculture has to face competition from others users 1990-81 to 2003-04 (million t).
of land and water, in as much as these resources would
State Marine Inland Total
become more scarce in future (Rosegrant et al. 2002).
• Marine sector would face an energy crisis as it uses more Andhra Pradesh 5.57** 13.41** 10.38**
fossil fuels for expansion. Assam - 3.53** 3.53**
• Aquaculture production would be restrained by diseases Bihar - 3.51** 3.51**
as the sector expands (Subasinghe et al. 2001).
Gujarat 1.67* -0.80NS 1.51*
• The availability of fish meat and fish oil as feed inputs
may also become a limiting factor. Haryana - 4.49** 4.49**
Yield increases can come either from increased in- Himachal Pradesh - 1.84** 1.84**
puts or greater efficiency of inputs. It is likely that in the Jammu and Kashmir - 3.18** 3.18**
next several decades, aquaculture production will benefit Karnataka -0.84 NS 4.32* 0.87 NS
from both of these sources of yield growth. Greater use Kerala 1.33** 6.90** 1.83**
of compounded aquaculture feeds along with improve-
Madhya Pradesh - 1.21 NS 1.21 NS
ments in rearing technology and selective breeding has
the potential to increase the productivity of many farm Maharashtra 1.18 NS 6.06** 2.13**
of aquaculture. Orissa 2.04 NS 5.34** 3.83**
Punjab - 15.31** 15.31**
Growth of Fisheries Sector in Different States of India Rajasthan - 5.73** 5.73**
The growth rate analysis for various states from 1990-1981 Tamil Nadu 1.99** 1.52* 1.88**
to 2003-2004 showed that fish production had significant Uttar Pradesh - 7.29** 7.29**
growth in all states except Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh West Bengal 2.69** 4.47** 4.16**
(Table 6). In some of the states namely: Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi - 1.98 NS 1.98 NS
Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal,
the growth of inland fisheries was found to be higher than ** Significant at 1%,
that of marine fisheries. But in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, *Significant 5%,
marine fisheries growth was observed to be more than that NS- Non-significant
of inland fisheries.

World Aquaculture 49

Fig. 6a. Changing shares of States in Marine Production, 1990-
91 and 2003-04.
Fig. 6b. Changing shares of States in Marine Production,
1990-91 and 2003-04.
Share of States in Total Fish Production
Marine fish production
The share of various states in the country’s total marine
production was analyzed and its composition was presented
for the year 1990-1991 and 2003-2004 to understand the
changing share of various states in this crucial export ori-
ented sector (Figure 6a,b).
In 1990-1991, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil
Nadu and Karnataka together contributed about 81 percent
in the total marine production. In the last 15 years, Guja-
rat was reaching a plateau and its contribution has been re-
duced recently and Kerala is static in its increase, while the
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu share didn’t change. The one
state that has been increasing at a rapid pace in marine pro-
duction is Andhra Pradesh, which replaced Karnataka in its
share of total production in the last 15 years. Among the
others states, the major contributors to total marine produc-
tion, are West Bengal and Orissa and among the Union Ter-
ritories (UT), the major contributors are Puducherry and
Andaman Nicobar islands, though their current production
has stagnated in the recent years.
It is accepted that the potential of marine fisheries is
50 September 2010
probably near the ceiling. However, scientific opportunities
may exist in the area of the mariculture of filter feeders. But,
the development of this sector is beset with major manage-
ment problems. It is facing the problem of influx of sewage
water and other pollutants causing health hazards. Yet an-
other problem faced relates to global warming. The marine
fisheries also have to bear large-scale destruction of juvenile
fishes. Hence, institutionalization of conservatory and regu-
latory / control measures are important.
Inland fish production
The share of various states in the country’s total inland
fish production was analyzed and its composition was pre-
sented for the year 1990-1991 and 2003-2004 to understand
the dynamics of this sector in contributing to total fish
production (Figure 7a,b). In the year 1990-1991, the major
producing states were West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. Together they contributed about
68 percent to total inland fish production. In the subsequent
15 years, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had made tre-
mendous progress in its share of total inland production,
overtaking West Bengal, which was static in its increase and
hence lost to these emerging states. Bihar and Orissa were
maintaining their share in inland production, though they
have reached stagnation in output. Another major state,
whose contribution is improving rapidly, is Punjab. Apart
from these, the states that are reaching a point of maximum
output are Assam, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh were experienc-
ing negative growth in production. Again the promising UT
in inland production is Puducherry.
Drivers of Future Growth
To sustain this growth of the sector in general, technology,
infrastructure and market play major roles as does enhanced
investment in research and development. Technology had
been the main factors responsible for the phenomenal growth
of aquaculture, particularly after the advent of carp polycul-
ture and composite fish culture in the late 1970s. Similarly,
major investments in infrastructure, such as construction of
mini harbors, jetties, landing centers, introduction of trawlers
and mechanized vessels, and supply of nets led to increased
catch in the capture fisheries sector. However, the market has
not been able to play a major role in the growth of the sector,
so far. To tap the potential of the sector, the market would
have to take the lead in furthering the growth, especially in
the emergence of aquaculture sector. Some of the illustrative
aspects under each major driving force are described below.
Technology
Quality seed production
Selective breeding of carps
Formulation of low cost feed materials using locally
available ingredients
Fabrication of nets for targeted fishing
Infrastructure
Constructing landing centers in second tier potential
costal towns
 Creation of cold storage near landing centers
Upgrading manually operated boats into outboard
motorized ones
Supply of ice boxes

Market
Creation of domestic markets
Creation of institutional structures like marketing
societies with fishermen / fish farmers as members
Creation of cold storage facilities
Transportation of fish and fishery products by refrigerated
containers from point of landing / production to
consumption centres
Documentation of innovative market models already
existing in the sector and replicating in similar areas Fig. 7a. Changing share of States in inland fish production,
with support from both Govt. and non-governmental 1990-91 and 2003-04.
agencies
Gradation, Standardization and Branding of fish and
fishery products
Creation of Market Information System with the
application of ICT tools.

Notes
Senior Scientist, National Centre for Agricultural Economics and
1

Policy Research
P.B.No.11305, DPS Marg, Pusa, New Delhi – 110 012, India., dr-
gankum@yahoo.com

References
Ayyappan, S. and M. Krishnan. 2004. Fisheries sector in India:
Dimensions of development. Indian Journal of Agricultural
Economics 59:392-412. Fig. 7b. Changing share of States in inland fish production,
Delgado, C.L., N. Wada, M.W.Rosegrant, S. Meijer and M. Ahmed. 1990-91 and 2003-04.
2003. The future of fish: Issues and trends to 2020. Book pub-
lished by IFPRI and World Fish Centre. ISBN: 0-89629-725-
X.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
2002. Fisheries Statistics http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/fisoft/fish-
plus.
GoI (Government of India). 2007. Economic survey, 2006-07.
New Delhi, India.
ICAR-ICLARM (Indian Council of Agricultural Research — In-
ternational Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.
2004. Strategies and options for increasing and sustaining Fish-
eries and Aquaculture production to benefit poor households
in India.
Katiha, P.K. and R.C. Bhatta. 2002. Production and consumption
of aquacultural products in India: Past trend, present status and
future prospects. Presented at Special session on Strategies and
Options for Sustainable Aquacultural Development at World
Aquaculture at 2002, Beijing, China.
Kumar, P., M.M. Dey and F. Paraguas. 2006. Fish supply projec-
tions by production environments and species types in India.
Agricultural Economics Research Review 19:327-351.
Rosegrant, M., X. Cai and S. Cline. 2002. World water and food to
2025: Dealing with scarcity. International Food Policy Research
Institute, Washington, District of Columbia USA.
Subasinghe, R.P., M.G. Bondad-Reantaso and S.E. McGladdry.
2001. Aquaculture development, health and wealth. In Techni-
cal Proceedings of the Conference on Aquaulture in the Third
Millennium, Bangkok, Thailand, 20-25, February, 2000.

World Aquaculture 51
View publication stats